- Elon Musk calls most crypto projects scams during testimony tied to OpenAI’s abandoned 2018 ICO fundraising plan.
- Court case centers on Musk accusing OpenAI of shifting from a nonprofit mission after a major Microsoft investment deal.
- Despite criticism, Tesla still holds 11,509 Bitcoins worth $786 million after selling the majority in 2022.
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI has brought the company’s past fundraising plans into court. Testimony in Oakland tied the dispute to a proposed 2018 crypto fundraising idea.
Musk aimed much of the crypto sector during testimony in his lawsuit against OpenAI on Wednesday. In an Oakland courtroom, he said “some of them have merit, but most of them are scams.”
Musk’s Crypto Remark Tied to OpenAI ICO Dispute
The remark came when Musk was asked to explain crypto in court. New York Times reporter Mike Isaac later shared the comment in an X post.
The question was tied to OpenAI’s short-lived 2018 plan to create a cryptocurrency through an initial coin offering. That proposal was presented as a way to help fund the then-nonprofit.
ICOs were a major fundraising model for crypto projects in the late 2010s. They drew heavy speculative investment, but many of those projects later collapsed after raising money.
That funding idea surfaced as part of Musk’s legal fight with OpenAI. The case centers on the mission and structure of the company he co-founded in 2015.
Musk claims OpenAI broke its founding contract after striking an investment deal with Microsoft and moving into commercial products. In court, he said OpenAI had “stole[n] a charity.”
OpenAI has rejected that argument. The company said Musk understood that OpenAI could eventually become a for-profit entity.
Musk’s Crypto Record Returns in OpenAI Trial
In a blog post, OpenAI also said Musk supported a fundraising plan that involved an ICO. According to the company, that plan would have included the creation of a for-profit subsidiary.
Musk’s comment in court also drew attention because of his past links to crypto. During the pandemic-era bull run, he was one of the most visible public supporters of digital assets.
In 2021, Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. The move made Tesla an early example of a public company using its balance sheet to buy crypto.
This strategy later became more common among listed firms. At the time, Tesla’s Bitcoin purchase placed Musk near the center of the crypto market story.
His posts about Dogecoin also helped lift the meme token during the same period. Musk’s comments became closely watched as Dogecoin moved higher in value.
Tesla later reduced that exposure. The company sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in mid-2022. However, the decision meant Tesla only partly benefited from the later bull run that followed the election of President Donald Trump. During that rally, Bitcoin climbed above $125,000 in 2024.
Tesla still holds 11,509 Bitcoin. Regulatory filings show the company marked down the value of those remaining holdings by $222 million in the first quarter of 2026.
The company valued the remaining Bitcoin stash at $786 million. Even so, those coins have still risen sharply from their 2021 purchase cost of $386 million.
However, the OpenAI trial is expected to last about three weeks. The case carries major financial and governance stakes as OpenAI moves toward a potential IPO. Musk is seeking leadership removal, reversal of restructuring, and more than $134 billion in damages.
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